Every 5 years the US Census Bureau conducts an economic census. A significant aspect of the census involves the Survey of Business Owners.
"The Survey of Business Owners is a sample survey that provides the only comprehensive, regularly collected source of information on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by gender, ethnicity, race and veteran status. " ( U.S. Census Bureau)
The survey is a massive data collection effort that polls millions of businesses to determine the true state of our economy.
Please take note of the following content, which was pulled directly from the source. Please reference the link to access more detailed data.
- There were 2.6 million black or African American-owned firms nationally in 2012, up from 1.9 million or 34.5 percent from 2007.
- All except for 109,137 or 4.2 percent, of black or African American-owned firms were nonemployers.
- While 9.4 percent of all U.S. firms were black or African American-owned, the largest percentage was 19.2 percent in the health care and social assistance sector. For comparison, blacks or African Americans accounted for 13.1 percent of the 18 and older population in 2012.
- The Atlanta metro area had more black or African American-owned firms (176,245) in 2012 than any other metro area besides the New York metro area (250,890).
- Georgia had more black or African American-owned firms in 2012 than any other state (256,848), followed by Florida (251,216).
- Cook County, Ill., led all counties in the number of black or African American-owned firms, with 110,155.
- The District of Columbia, Mississippi and Georgia were the only states where more than one-quarter of all firms were black or African American-owned (34.8 percent, 27.7 percent and 27.6 percent, respectively).
- Among the nation’s 50 most populous cities, black or African American-owned firms as a percentage of all firms was highest in Detroit and Memphis, Tenn., in 2012 (77.0 percent and 56.2 percent, respectively).
Source: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-209.html